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The ‘resting’ of players by North Melbourne and Fremantle in the last round of the regular season was a blight on the game of AFL and not in the ‘spirit’ of the game.
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For the Kangaroos to ‘rest’ nine players and for Fremantle to ‘rest’ eleven players was done with their players’ interests at heart, but showed little or no respect for their opponents Richmond and Port Adelaide.
To your average sports fan the perception is that both North Melbourne and Fremantle have manipulated the result to their advantage, or in blunt terms they ‘tanked’. This could quite possibly give them an unfair advantage over their opponents in Round 1 of the finals series who both played full strength teams.
A number of AFL experts have been divided on the merits of ‘resting’ players in the lead up to the finals, with the downside being that a team will enter the finals series with a loss and without momentum which is how it predictably played out with the Kangaroos and Dockers both being beaten.
Why the AFL turned a blind eye and allowed this to happen was scandalous and beyond belief with the integrity of the game tarnished. Fans of all clubs, not just the Dockers and Kangaroos, were justifiably outraged.
Only time will tell as to whether the ‘resting’ of players by North Melbourne and Fremantle was a smart move or whether it will come back to bite them. As a neutral fan my allegiance will most definitely lie with whoever they will play.
Until the AFL rewrites it’s section on the ‘resting’ of players, teams will only continue to manipulate the loophole in the system to their advantage and deprive fans of the opportunity of watching teams field their strongest possible sides.
We need each team playing a fierce competitive match no matter what. For fans who tuned in or attended these two matches last round, they were deprived of this.
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